Transition metal ions effect on the properties and photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline TiO 2 prepared in an ionic liquid

Abstract

TiO 2 and transition metal (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) doped TiO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol–gel method using 2-hydroxylethylammonium formate as an ionic liquid. All the prepared samples were calcined at 500 °C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area determination, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The studies revealed that transition metal (TM) doped nanoparticles have smaller crystalline size and higher surface area than pure TiO 2. Dopant ions in the TiO 2 structure caused significant absorption shift into the visible region. The results of photodegradation of Acid Blue92 (AB92) in aqueous medium under UV light showed that photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanoparticles was significantly enhanced by the presence of some transition metal ions. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of dye solutions were done at regular intervals gave a good idea about mineralization of dye.